Mathematics

Student Background Questionnaire

2005
Grade 12
 3
SECTION 3 Section

In this section, please tell us about yourself and your family. The section has 14 questions.
Mark your answers in your booklet.

VB331330 VB331331

1. Are you Hispanic or Latino? Fill in one 2. Which of the following best describes
or more ovals. you? Fill in one or more ovals.
A No, I am not Hispanic or Latino. A White

B Yes, I am Mexican, Mexican B Black or African American

American, or Chicano.
C Asian
C Yes, I am Puerto Rican or Puerto
Rican American. D American Indian or Alaska Native

D Yes, I am Cuban or Cuban E Native Hawaiian or other Pacific

American. Islander

E Yes, I am from some other Hispanic

or Latino background.

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 Section 3

For the rest of the questions in this section, fill in only one oval for each question.

VB331333 VB331337

3. Does your family get a newspaper at 7. Is there an encyclopedia in your home? It

least four times a week? could be a set of books, or it could be on
the computer.
A Yes
A Yes
B No
B No
C I don’t know.
C I don’t know.

VB331334 TB001101

4. Does your family get any magazines 8. About how many pages a day do you
regularly? have to read in school and for
homework?
A Yes
A 5 or fewer
B No
B 6–10
C I don’t know.
C 11–15

D 16–20
VB331335

5. About how many books are there in E More than 20

your home?
A Few (0–10) VB331339

9. How often do you talk about things you

B Enough to fill one shelf (11–25) have studied in school with someone in
your family?
C Enough to fill one bookcase (26–100)
A Never or hardly ever
D Enough to fill several bookcases
(more than 100) B Once every few weeks

C About once a week

VB331336 D Two or three times a week

6. Is there a computer at home that
you use? E Every day

A Yes

B No

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 Section 3

VB331447 VB331451

10. How many days were you absent from 13. How often do people in your home talk
school in the last month? to each other in a language other than
English?
A None
A Never
B 1 or 2 days
B Once in a while
C 3 or 4 days
C About half of the time
D 5 to 10 days
D All or most of the time
E More than 10 days

VB330870 HE002549

11. How far in school did your mother go?
A She did not finish high school.
B She graduated from high school.
C She had some education after high
school.
14. Which of the following best describes
your high school program?
A General
B Academic or college preparatory
C Vocational or technical

D She graduated from college.

E I don’t know.

VB330871

12. How far in school did your father go?

A He did not finish high school.

B He graduated from high school.

C He had some education after high

school.

D He graduated from college.

E I don’t know.

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 4
SECTION 4 Section

This section has 16 questions. Mark your answers in your booklet. Unless directed
otherwise, fill in only one oval for each question.

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 Section 4

VB543279
1. Which courses have you taken from eighth grade to the present? Fill in one or more ovals on
each line. INCLUDE courses taken in summer school, but DO NOT INCLUDE topics that were
only taught as part of a longer course (such as trigonometry taught in drafting class or computer
programming taught in Algebra II).

I took this
I have never course in I took this I took this I took this I took this
taken this or before course in course in course in course in
course Grade 8 Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12

a. Basic or general mathematics A B C D E F VB543280

course

b. Tech-pr ep mathematics,
ech-prep A B C D E F VB543281

business mathematics, con

con--
sumer mathematics, or other
applied mathematics course

c. Introduction to algebra or A B C D E F VB543282

pre-algebra course

d. Algebra I course A B C D E F VB543283

e. Geometry course
Geometry A B C D E F VB543285

f. Algebra II course, with or A B C D E F VB543286

without trigonometr
trigonometry y

g. Trigonometry (as a separate

rigonometry A B C D E F VB543287

course)

h. Pre-calculus course, (also called A B C D E F VB543288

third-year algebra or elementary

functions and analysis)

i. Unified
Unified, integrated
integrated, or sequential A B C D E F VB543289

mathematics course

j. Probability or statistics course A B C D E F VB543290

k. Calculus course A B C D E F VB543292

l. Discrete or finite mathematics A B C D E F VB543291

course

m. Other mathematics course A B C D E F VB543293

n. Computer programming A B C D E F VB543294

course (such as C++, Pascal,

Visual Basic, etc.)

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 Section 4

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2. Are you currently enrolled in or have 4. How often do you use a computer to play
you taken an Advanced Placement (AP) mathematics games that are not for a
course in mathematics? Fill in one or mathematics class
class?
more ovals.
A Never or hardly ever
A Yes, I am enrolled in or have taken
Advanced Placement (AP) B Once every few weeks
Calculus AB.
C About once a week
B Yes, I am enrolled in or have taken
Advanced Placement (AP) D Two or three times a week
Calculus BC.
E Every day or almost every day
C Yes, I am enrolled in or have taken
Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics.

D No, I have never taken an Advanced

Placement (AP) mathematics course. VB543267

5. What kind of calculator do you usually

use when you are not in mathematics
class
class?
VB543297 A None
3. Are you currently enrolled in or have
you taken any online mathematics B Basic four-function (addition,
courses for high school or college credit
credit? subtraction, multiplication,
division)
A Yes
C Scientific (not graphing)
B No
D Graphing

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 Section 4

VB517284 VB543148

6. Are you currently taking a mathematics
course?
A Yes ➔ Go to Question 7
B No ➔ Skip to Question 14
8. On a typical day, how much time do you
spend doing work for mathematics class
on a computer? Include work you do in
class and for homework.
A None

B Half an hour or less

C About 1 hour
VB525162

7. How often do you use a computer for D About 2 hours

mathematics at school?
E More than 2 hours
A Never or hardly ever

B Once every few weeks

C About once a week

D Two or three times a week

E Every day or almost every day

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 Section 4

VB543155

9. When you are doing mathematics for school or homework, how often do you use these
different types of computer programs
programs? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never Once About Two or Every
Ever y day
or hardly y few
every
ever once a three times or almost
ever weeks week a week ever
everyy day

VB543157
a. A spreadsheet program A B C D E
for mathematics class
assignments
VB543158
b. A program to practice or A B C D E
drill on math facts (addition,
subtraction, multiplication,
division)
VB543160
c. A program that presents new A B C D E
mathematics lessons with
problems to solve
VB543159
d. The Internet to learn things A B C D E
for mathematics class
VB543161
e. A calculator program on the A B C D E
computer to solve or check
problems for mathematics
class
VB543262
f. A graphing program on the A B C D E
computer to make charts or
graphs for mathematics class
VB517157
g. A statistical program to A B C D E
calculate patterns such
as correlations or cross
tabulations

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 Section 4

VB543149

10. When you are doing mathematics for school or homework

homework, how often do you use a computer
for the following? Fill in one oval on each line.
Never Once About Two or Every
Ever y day
or hardly y few
every
ever once a three times or almost
ever weeks week a week ever
everyy day

VB543152
a. Chat online with friends A B C D E
about mathematics class
work or homework (for
example, e-mail, chat
rooms, or instant
messaging)

VB543153
b. Find out about mathematics A B C D E
class work or homework from
your teacher using e-mail,
instant messaging, web, etc.

VB543154
c. Use a computer to get help A B C D E
with mathematics from
an outside source (for
example, online tutoring)

VB517159

11. How often do you use these different types of calculators in your mathematics class?
Never Sometimes Usually
use but not often use

VB517160
a. Basic four-function (addition, subtraction, A B C
multiplication, division)
VB517161
b. Scientific (not graphing) A B C
VB517282
c. Graphing A B C

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 Section 4

VB543269

12. For each of the following activities, how often do you use a calculator
calculator? Fill in one oval on
each line.
Never Once About Two or Every
Ever y day
or hardly y few
every
ever once a three times or almost
ever weeks week a week ever
everyy day

VB543270
a. To check your work on A B C D E
mathematics homework
assignments
VB543271
b. To calculate the answers A B C D E
to mathematics homework
problems
VB543272
c. To work in class on A B C D E
mathematics lessons led by
your teacher

VB517158 VB595182

13. When you take a mathematics test or 14. How hard was this test compared to
quiz, how often do you use a calculator? most other tests you have taken this year
in school?
A Never
A Easier than other tests
B Sometimes
B About as hard as other tests
C Always
C Harder than other tests

D Much harder than other tests

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 Section 4

VC034559 VB595184

15. How hard did you try on this test 16. How important was it to you to do well
compared to how hard you tried on on this test?
most other tests you have taken this
year in school? A Not very important

A Not as hard as on other tests B Somewhat important

B About as hard as on other tests C Important

C Harder than on other tests D Very important

D Much harder than on other tests

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